Reducing the length of rotations in medical ICUs in half also reduces rates of physician burnout in half while additionally improving feelings of fulfillment, according to a new pilot study from Penn Medicine.

The results were strong enough that Penn has changed rotations for critical-care doctors on its medical intensive care units (MICUs) at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center. Instead of traditional rotations of 14 consecutive days, these critical-care doctors, also known as intensivists, now work seven straight days or two weeks with a weekend break in between. Over the course of a year, they still work eight to 20 weeks in the ICU, interspersed with time spent doing research and outpatient care.

When critical-care doctors are assigned to a MICU, they typically work 10-to-12-hour days in the unit and then take phone calls at home, including about two overnight, said Mark Mikkelsen, lead author of the study and chief of medical critical care at Penn Medicine.

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